The Pittsburgh Penguins (40-31-9-1, 35-46 PL, 35-41 O/U) meet with the Columbus Blue Jackets (24-47-8-1, 38-42 PL, 43-35 O/U) in the final regular season game on Thursday evening. The Penguins lost a home decision against the Blackhawks on Tuesday. The Blue Jackets were dealt a road loss by the Flyers in their previous bout. The Penguins lead the season series 3-0.
The Pittsburgh Penguins enter the season finale with disappointment after missing out on the playoffs. The battle for one of the wildcard spots in the Eastern Conference came down to the last week. The Penguins have won two of their last three games. They beat the Red Wings 5-1 on Saturday but were huge favorites in an ugly 5-2 home loss against the Blackhawks on Tuesday. The Penguins are 5-5 in their last ten clashes.
Sidney Crosby is clicking, recording eight points in his last six games. The veteran captain is having another productive season, collecting 91 points. Crosby has been dominant against the Blue Jackets this season, amassing eight points. Evgeni Malkin has five points on the month. The veteran winger had three assists in the previous meeting against Columbus and has a total of 83 points on the year. Rickard Rakell has netted three goals and two assists this month. The 29-year-old is h aving one of the better seasons of his career, registering 59 points.
MORE OF THIS, PLEASE. pic.twitter.com/pcRiwhxkZG
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The Penguins will likely have Tristan Jarry guard the cage. The veteran netminder has been stellar in two of his last three performances and is sporting a 2.90 GAA along with a .909 save % accompanied by a 24-13-6 record on the season while DeSmith has a 3.17 GAA and a .905 save %. Pittsburgh is scoring an average of 3.2 goals, ranking them 16th. They are conceding an average of 3.2 goals, placing them 19th.